Pharmacological ethics

An engagement with Derrida's "Plato's Pharmacy." Th e paper addresses: where wordless things exist (in connection with pharmacological ambiguity), Derrida's presentation of what he calls true morality (in connection with patricide, writing, and "straying with antisubstance"), the son's replacement of the father in writing, ("the god of writing becomes the god of medicine"), and "pharmacological therapeia." Th e paper ends with an account of "sensible awareness" and the ways in which the functions of cultural sensibility both confirm and show limits in Derrida's pharmacological practices. Th e paper throughout addresses issues basic to how people live in the context of a pharmacological disposition.